ESTEVAN - Estevan city council held a brief but productive meeting Aug. 23.
The council looked at a report from land development services, which has received an application for development approval for financial services business IG Wealth Management Services, located at 1138 Third Street.
The proposal was to use the existing building.
"The business has some off-street parking available and either on-street or public parking nearby. It is noted that this area is becoming congested for on-street parking on weekends, but that is outside of normal business hours and should not be an issue," reads the proposal. "Notice of the proposed use was provided to adjoining landowners within 75 metres.”
Land development services received one inquiry from an adjacent asking for more information and an inquiry from the developer. No objections to the proposed use have been received.
Councillor Tony Sernick asked if any work on the exterior of the building was planned.
"I believe the proposed business is already in operation. There were renovations inside that took place but no exterior renovations are contemplated at this point," said land development services manager Richard Neufeld.
The council unanimously voted in favour of moving forward with the recommendation and then moved onto the building permit report.
There were three new building permits issued in July, all for miscellaneous, which brought the total for permits issued in 2021 to 24. The total dollar value for the three new permits was $220,000 and the total for the year so far is $1,793,605.
Council also went over the water quality report for July.
"We treated a total of 202,962,500 litres of water and pumped 188,954,000 litres into the distribution system for the month. There were no plant upsets and all regulated parameters for drinking water were below government regulations,” reported water and wastewater manager Shane Bucsis.
There weren’t any water main breaks, either.
"Everything out there is going great. And we commend Shane and his crew for all the good work that they do," said Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig.
The Mayor reported on a recent trip to Yorkton for the recent city mayors’ convention.
“The city manager and I just got back from a couple of days in Yorkton. We meet twice a year, the city mayors and city managers. We went over our strat. (strategic) plan. One of the hot button topics that we will be getting together with our provincial government was this whole reassessment," Ludwig said.
"We're trying to cut it down probably to (every) two years if we can, from four, to make it more timely. And we'll see where that goes. But pretty much every city was very, very upset with the reassessment the way SAMA handled it. And we will work very hard to try to change that to make it more accessible and easier to use."
Treasurer Trudy Firth said that two years would help considerably.
During the inquiries, Councillor Shelly Veroba said council toured most of the city facilities on Aug. 20, and she was impressed with the Estevan Public Library.
"So for anyone who has not gone, got their library card and checked out a few books, or checked out some DVDs, or even the computer system that they have down there and their reading area, it was just impressive to be in there, to see what is offered by the Estevan Public Library for free for the citizens of this area,” said Veroba.
Councillor Rebeca Foord, Councillor Travis Frank and Councillor Kirsten Walliser also brought up some concerns and suggestions about the pathway system that is now under construction in Estevan.
Foord questioned the use of motorized vehicles on the pathways.
"The normal pathway bylaw will be applied, so no motorized vehicles on those facilities. I believe as we get to a grand opening … we'll be doing a public education piece on what is allowed and what isn't allowed," answered city manager Jeff Ward.
"We will take a come and see attitude somewhat. Hopefully, everyone will be safe. We would like as many users as possible and part of the problem with motorized vehicles is they are heavy," added the mayor, saying that the weight of vehicles may significantly damage the pathway surface, especially during summertime.
At this point, he also reminded the public that motor vehicle use on the pathways is unacceptable.
Frank said that he notices a lot of positive comments about people enjoying the new pathway system. He also reminded the public to be cautious while utilizing them, as construction is still ongoing, and to avoid littering to keep the city clean.
Walliser pointed out that people would like to see some maintenance for the old pathways such as weed spraying or maybe a renovation plan for 2022. And Veroba added that users shouldn't bring bad old habits over to new pathways, but rather try getting rid of those habits altogether, and asked everyone to use bags provided by the city and pick up after their dogs.
Sernick brought up concerns about shrubbery on the corner of Fourth Street and Eighth Avenue, which might be an obstacle to the traffic, which was brought to the city manager's attention. He added that some time ago another inquiry about shrubs by No Frills was brought to his attention. He checked the situation, and it was taken care of.
Council also wished all the best to Councillor Veroba as she was celebrating her birthday on the day of the meeting.
